What Does Yas Queen Mean? A Simple Guide To The Slang Internet Term Everyone's Using

If you’ve been around for some time, you’ve probably heard the phrase “yas queen.” It has been used in articles and on television. It can be heard on podcasts and seen accompanying our favorite memes, and it is used in day-to-day speech, because who doesn’t want to embrace their inner queen?

But what does yas queen mean, and where does it come from? I’m glad you asked.

The meaning of yas queen, Uaccording to Urban Dictionary and pronounced YAAA-SSS-SSS kwEEn, is “a phrase used to express enthusiastic support, excitement, or congratulations for someone you love.” Yas queen is a phrase used to denote “anything applause-worthy [and/or] fierce” and it is the “phrase to use when ‘you go girl’ seems insufficient.”

In short, yas queen is an emphatic term of endearment, encouragement, celebration, love and/or show of support.

Yas queen, also known as yas kween, can be used in a variety of ways though the most common variation is to add a series of AAAs and/or SSSs to the word, as the addition of these letters adds intensity to the phrase and drives the point home — i.e., yaaaaaaaas queen, yasssssss queen, or (if you are really feeling the phrase) yaaaaaaaaaassssss queen.

Of course, it is important to note that there is no right or wrong spelling of the phrase. The word yas is fluid and can be denoted however you like.

“Yas comes from gay culture,” the podcast explains, but it was first publicly recorded in a documentary called Paris Is Burning. “Yas is there in the opening scene. This beautiful, golden drag queen struts out in front of an adoring crowd and they’re all yelling it.” Boom. The first known use of yas.

That said, yas queen has recently come into the forefront thanks to pop culture icons like Lady Gaga — a fan infamously referred to Gaga by the term four years ago — and shows like Broad City — whose main character, Ilana Glazer, uses the phrase on a regular basis. (There’s even an entire segment where Glazer teaches her best friend, Abbi Jacobson, how to properly use the term.)

But how, then, does one use yas queen? How can you incorporate the expression into your own vocabulary? Easy.

Oh my gosh, your new outfit is fab. Yas queen, yas!

I can’t believe you got the job. Yas queen!

You're slaying so hard right now I can’t even. Yas queen. Keep it up!

Did you see Beyoncé's performance last night? I was like, “yas queen,” because — let’s be honest — she killed it.

And, perhaps the best (and most common usage) of the phrase is all on its own: Yaaaaaaaasss queen, yas!​

Nicole Lane is a wife, mother, writer, and regular contributor for YourTango. She is a staunch defender of women's rights, she believes firmly in equality and parity, and she is an advocate for women's health, mental health, and sexuality.